The thought comes in various moments; sitting at dinner, driving across town, lying awake at night: God has entrusted me with the care of a beautiful woman, two precious girls, and a dear little man. What the heck was He thinking? Please, someone tell me I’m not the best we have. Isn’t there someone wiser, […]

Recently, James Witmer included a wonderful post from his wife, Julie, in the Story Warren drafts and I was delighted to publish it. Today, it’s my own very beautiful wife’s turn. You may think I’m just posting it because I turn out to be the hero in the end. Maybe. Who’s denying it? Or maybe […]

I have often heard that stories affect us more like experience than fact, working their way down into our unconscious beliefs. This held true in my childhood reading, and Bill Peet’s picturebook, Cowardly Clyde, is a great example of how. Allow me first a quick outline of the story, why I still love it, then a few […]

The little people in your life may be different ages than mine, but I’ll bet my to-do list rings a bell anyway: Prepare meals Trick your kids into eating them Hunt for what’s missing Fix what’s broken Spread art supplies on table Clean art supplies off floor Find the source of the smell Shoe little […]

I like fiction. While many here wouldn’t find that confession controversial, the good Christian folk among whom I grew up would lift an eyebrow at it. Why? Well, first they’d always say, “Can’t you see you’re wasting your time with things that aren’t real?” I’m sure readers of Story Warren can see problems in that […]

Our family favorite ice cream stop is the Pied Piper Creamery. Tucked away in Berry Hill, one of Nashville’s quirky business districts, the PPC expanded on the original version that has blessed East Nashville for years. With flavors like Baklava, Pancakes, Halepeño, Little Debbie Does Dallas or Red Velvet Elvis, we always taste 4 or […]

My wife once had a green thumb. But it was of a particularly virulent type, and she’s now pretty green all over. And just pretty, too. But I digress – beautifying our home, for her, means inside and out, and I have been fascinated by how we are spiritually enriched by the horticultural beauty. This […]

Spontaneity doesn’t come naturally to me. My mind is linear and logical, sometimes to a fault. I live in the realm of the practical. Flying by the seat of my pants just makes me woozy. Children do not understand this. To them, life is all imagination, curiosity, and magic. This makes a simple thing like […]

My daughter knows I’m thinking about her because, every night, I move the turtle. Let me explain. One night our family watched a documentary about the life of a sea turtle. Afterwards, their little plastic toy turtle (named “Sparky”) became a focus of attention for us. We joked about his life and his journey and […]

In their book, Bless This House: Prayers For Families And Children, Gregory and Suzanne Wolfe write about how “mornings seem to be the special province of young children”, about how it’s hard for parents to keep up with the incredible energies of a child freshly awake. Bethany and I know this first hand. Coulter has more […]